How to Order Wine Online

I know everyone is scrambling to order wine online these days, so I made a quick video to help you navigate this crazy world of buying wine online.

Online wine sales have been going up year after year, even before the pandemic. As more and more people do all their shopping online, retailers are catching up. Here are my top tips for buying wine online.

1. Find a great website to buy wine online from

Americans, make sure that this website can ship to your state! Having the correct state inputted before ordering will keep you from putting things into your basket that aren’t available to you.

2. Ignore online wine reviews

Always remember: people are stupid, and what one person likes might not be your cup of tea. While you should absolutely ignore your peers, don’t ignore awards. Wine websites should say if something has won an award. Awards are legit and are given after wines are judged by huge groups of experts. Things like points that are awarded by famous wine experts or magazines are legit too.

3. Price matters when you order wine online

Next, own your price point. Most wine websites have the ability to sort by price category. Start there so you don’t go overboard. Sales are a great way to get more expensive wine for less. They’re mostly just a way to keep product moving or promote a certain brand or region, so enjoy it while it lasts. Remember that shipping wine can get really expensive, so it’s worth seeing if your chosen website has membership deals, they can often pay for themselves within a couple drops.

4. Shop wine by style

If the site has a search function for style that’s a great place to start. What styles of wine are you into? Tell me in the comments and I’ll recommend some specifics for you.

Ultimately, the best way to get great wine online is also the same best way to get great wine in real life, it’s to learn what you like, then learn what’s like that, and gradually build out your personal wine universe.

Transcript: How To Order Wine Online

How do you know what’s good?

Hi, this is Wine Dine Caroline, and you’re watching Learn Wine with Caroline. I’m a wine educator with over a decade of experience in the wine trade and a fancy wine diploma. And today I’m going to tell you how to order wine online.

Online wine sales have been going up year after year, even before you know. As more and more people do all their shopping online, retailers are catching up. Now before we go any further, I need to say this. If you have a choice, go and buy wine from a local winery or wine shop, always do that. Always directly support wine producers and your friendly local wine merchants if you have that choice. That is always going to be the best choice. Okay so now that’s out of the way, how do we shop for wine online? How do you know what’s good? This is even more stressful than normal wine shopping. So let’s break it down.

First things first, find a great website that sells wine. Hot tip for Americans, make sure the website knows what state you’re in that will change what is available to you. Okay, the next thing to do is ignore user reviews. Always remember people are stupid and what one person likes, it might not be your cup of tea. While you should absolutely ignore your peers. Do not ignore awards. Those stickers or paper bottlenecks sleeves you see at the store sometimes, those are legit. Wine websites should say if something has won an award. Awards are legit because they’re given after wine has been judged by big groups of experts. Things like points that are awarded by famous wine experts or magazines are legit too. You can trust them, they know what’s good.

Next own your price point. Most wine websites have the ability to sort by price category. Start there so you don’t go overboard. Sales are a great way to get more expensive wine for less. Remember that shipping wine can get really, really expensive. So it’s worth seeing if your chosen website has membership deals. They can often pay for themselves within a couple shipping drops. After that, it’s about style and it’s a little harder to guide you from there unless the site offers a chat service, which some do. I actually used to be a chat recommendations expert for wine.com. So yes, that actually exists. If the site does have a search function for style, that’s a great place to start to. What styles of wine are you into? Tell me in the comments and I’ll recommend some specific wines for you. Let’s see, I’m going to throw out some ideas. Say you like a really fruity white, you can look for Riesling, Vinag, Sauvignon Blanc, maybe an Albarino. Those are amazing.

If you’re looking for more crisp white like Pinot Grigio, you can also try on Oak Chardonnay, maybe Vermintino. Just hit up Italy in general. A lot of Italian whites are really nice and crisp and not too aromatic. If you’re in rose life and you want to keep it dry and crisp stick with provosts, but otherwise you can head to Spain for some awesome richer darker roses. Love a lightened, fruity red like me? Go for Beaujolais, it’s awesome and juicy and drinkable and it’s cheap. You can also try Valpolicella from Italy or a nice Pinot Noir from Alsace. If you’re really into obscure varietals, try and get your hands on Valdiguie. It’s good shit. For medium reds that go with everything, you can never go wrong with Rioja or Cotes Du Rhone. And for big bold bad-ass reds, check out Malbec Syrah, cabs and anything from Southern Italy.

There are so many choices. If I could have any wine magicked to me right now, it would be a bottle of Mosel Riesling from Germany. It’s my desert island wine. It tastes like Apple juice. Ultimately, the best way to get great wine online, is also the same best way to get great wine in real life. It’s to learn what you like and then learn what’s like that, and gradually build out your own personal wine universe. If you want to learn more about wine with me, make sure to like this video and subscribe to my channel, and don’t forget to click the link below to get your free wine style guide. Cheers.